EXCLUSIVE: Justice Department memo reveals legal case for drone strikes on Americans  —  Tribesmen examine the rubble of a building in southeastern Yemen where American teenagerAbdulrahmen al-Awlaki and six suspected al-Qaida militants were killed in a U.S. drone strike on Oct. 14, 2011.

Cantor 4.0 seeks to rebrand House GOP  —  House Republicans haven't settled on an agenda yet, but Majority Leader Eric Cantor is ready to rebrand the party.  —  The Virginia Republican is a metaphor for a GOP conference that is trying to modernize on the fly after a disappointing 2012 election …

Ron Paul  · 1,118,166 like this  —  As a veteran, I certainly recognize that this weekend's violence and killing of Chris Kyle were a tragic and sad event.  My condolences and prayers go out to Mr. Kyle's family.  Unconstitutional and unnecessary wars have endless unintended consequences.

Michelle Obama's posterior again the subject of a public rant  —  They're at it again.  —  The latest public rant against Michelle Obama's effort to promote low-calorie school lunches was recently caught on tape in Alabama — the usual protest against the federal government meddling in local business.

North Korea video shows US city in flames after missile attack  —  YouTube video shows city ablaze in scenes reminiscent of 9/11, as South Korea claims nuclear test imminent in Pyongyang  —  It begins benignly enough, with an image of a sleeping young North Korean man …

The Menendez Dilemma  —  Prostitution is both legal and widespread in the Dominican Republic, where as many as 100,000 women are part of the industry in a nation that has become a major sex-tourism hotspot of the Caribbean.  So it would not be a crime for Sen. Robert Menendez to have availed himself …

Eight Senators Vote To Block Violence Against Women Act  —  Eight Senators on Monday voted not to consider the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, a bill that protects victims of domestic violence.  The Senators who voted against moving to debate on the bill were: Sens. Ted Cruz …

Jon Favreau, President Obama's head speechwriter, is departing  —  Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau, who at times lit up social media as well as the president's addresses, is leaving.  —  President Obama and his head speechwriter, Jon Favreau, work in the Oval Office.

The Disgusting Consequences of Plastic-Bag Bans  —  Conservatives often point out that laws, no matter how benign they may appear, have unintended consequences.  They can reverberate in ways that not many people foresaw and nobody wanted: Raising the minimum wage can increase unemployment; prohibition can create black markets.

A revolution in the works?  Column  —  But if there's an upside to the increasing unhappiness that most Americans feel toward the political class, it's that maybe it means people are paying closer attention.  —  Americans are out of sorts, and increasingly they're unhappy with the government.

The GOP's ObamaCare Flippers  —  How the law's perverse incentives—and the health lobby—captured Arizona's Governor.  —  As D-Day looms for ObamaCare, one big question is how many states will sign up for its Medicaid expansion.  The recent and spectacular flip-flop of Arizona Governor Jan Brewer …

Study: Global Warming Can Be Slowed By Working Less  —  A new analysis suggests that a more ‘European’ schedule would reduce the effects of climate change  —  Want to reduce the effects of global warming?  Stop working so hard.  Working fewer hours might help slow global warming …

House GOP thinks unthinkable on defense cuts  —  The Republican mantra for decades has been: cut NPR, EPA and the National Endowment for the Arts.  —  Now add the Pentagon to the list.  —  In the modern history of the Republican Party, it would have been unthinkable.

Hillary Clinton Debuts New Website  —  Hillary Clinton appears to have a new website.  So far, hillaryclintonoffice.com has a picture of the former secretary of state and a form for contacting her.

HHS begins purge of ‘excessively burdensome’ healthcare rules  —  The Obama administration is proposing to reform existing healthcare regulations and purge unnecessary ones, a move that it says would save $3.4 billion over five years.  —  The Department of Health and Human Services has rolled …

“It's who they are ...” [Darleen Click]  —  “... it's what they do,” to quote Jeff.  —  Indefensible wealth.  Think of all the envy, coveting, self-hate, and downright misanthropy wrapped up in that one little phrase.  —  Really, the core “value” of the Left.  —  h/t Twitchy

ICE ex-chief: Nondeport rules would've spared 9/11 hijackers  —  The former chief of deportations in the Bush administration will testify to Congress on Tuesday that President Obama's new nondeportation policies would have let the Sept. 11 hijackers remain in the country even if they had been picked …

The Right Way to Cut Pentagon Spending  —  The U.S. has an abysmal record of postwar drawdowns that undermine military readiness and modernization.  —  Whether or not Congress avoids sequestration by March 1, defense spending will likely be cut by at least 10% over the next decade.

Dell in $24 Billion Deal to Go Private  —  Updated  —  Dell announced on Tuesday that it had agreed to go private in a $24.4 billion deal led by its founder and the investment firm Silver Lake, in the biggest leveraged buyout since the financial crisis.  —  Under the terms of the deal …

Pennsylvania Republicans To Introduce New Election-Rigging Plan … Last month, Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus called up “states that have been consistently blue that are fully controlled red” to rig future presidential elections by changing the way electoral votes are allocated.

U.S. household expenditures for gasoline account for nearly 4% of pretax income  —  Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates.  —  Republished: February 4, 2013, 10:00 a.m.: To correct an error in the text.  —  Gasoline expenditures in 2012 for the average U.S. household reached $2,912 …

Party Eyes ‘Red-State Model’ to Drive Republican Revival  —  TOPEKA, Kan.—Even if he doesn't enter the race himself, this state's Republican governor, Sam Brownback, is determined to play a starring role in the next presidential election.  —  How?  By turning Kansas into what he calls Exhibit …

Feds investigating finances of former Ald.  Sandi Jackson: sources  —  Former Ald.  Sandi Jackson in December.  File I Scott Stewart~Sun-Times  —  A federal financial probe of the once-politically powerful Jesse and Sandi Jackson has evolved into two separate investigations …